10 most popular PHP Frameworks and how to choose the best one for your project

PHP is one of the most used programming languages in web development. It allows you to create dynamic pages with great functionality. To simplify and speed up this process, there are numerous PHP frameworks, which provide a basic framework for development. Here we present the 10 most popular PHP frameworks and help you choose the best one for your project.

1.- Laravel

This is undoubtedly one of the most popular PHP frameworks today. It offers a simple and elegant syntax that makes it easy to perform common tasks such as authentication, routing, sessions, and caching. Laravel also includes an ORM (Object-Relational Mapping) system called Eloquent, which allows you to interact with the database in a very intuitive way.

Benefits of using Laravel

Laravel is one of the most popular PHP frameworks due to its elegant syntax and wide range of features. By choosing Laravel for software development, you can expect several benefits:

• Elegant and Expressive Syntax : Laravel has been designed with the goal of making the coding experience enjoyable for the developer. Its clear and expressive syntax makes code easy to read and write, which in turn improves productivity and reduces errors.
• Blade Template Engine : Blade is a simple but powerful template engine included in Laravel. It allows developers to work with PHP code directly in views, and offers useful features such as template and section inheritance.
• Eloquent ORM : Eloquent is Laravel's ORM (Object-Relational Mapping), which makes it easy to interact with databases. With Eloquent, you can work with databases using objects and relationships instead of writing SQL by hand.
• Artisan CLI – Laravel includes a command line tool called Artisan that simplifies many common development tasks. You can use Artisan to generate skeleton code, run database migrations, and more.
• Testing Integration – Laravel comes with built-in support for PHPUnit, and provides an easy-to-use testing framework for Test Driven Development (TDD).
• Middleware and Authentication : Laravel provides a simple middleware system for filtering HTTP requests, and an out-of-the-box authentication system that is simple to configure and customize.
• Simple and Powerful Routing : Laravel offers an easy-to-use interface for defining routes for your application. Routes can be bound to controllers or closures, and you can also create route bindings, which helps keep your URLs consistent.
• Integrated Cache System : Laravel offers a unified API for various cache systems. This facilitates data caching to increase application performance.
• Active Community and Great Ecosystem : Laravel has a very active community and a growing ecosystem. This means that you can find a large number of tutorials, forums, blogs and third-party packages to help you in your development.

In short, Laravel offers a great combination of power, flexibility, and ease of use that makes it a great choice for many software development projects.

2.- Symfony

This framework is known for its stability and performance. Symfony is very flexible and can be used in projects of any size, from small to huge enterprise applications. Its active community and extensive documentation make it easy to learn and use.

Benefits of using symfony

Symfony is another of the most popular PHP frameworks and is used in all types of projects, from small web applications to complex enterprise systems. The benefits of using symfony for software development include:

• Reusable Components : Symfony ships with a number of reusable components that can be used to speed up development. These components cover a wide range of functionality, such as forms, security, authentication, routing, session management, and more.
• MVC architecture : Symfony follows the Model-View-Controller (MVC) pattern, which helps keep code organized and separates business logic from presentation and control.
• Flexibility : Symfony is highly configurable and can be adapted to fit any type of project. You can use the entire framework or just some specific components depending on your needs.
• Integration with Doctrine : Doctrine is one of the most powerful and flexible ORM libraries in PHP, and integrates seamlessly with symfony. This makes working with databases easier and more efficient.
• Best Practices and Standards : Symfony promotes the use of industry best practices and standards, such as the use of dependency injection and object-oriented programming.
• Excellent Documentation and Active Community : Symfony has a very complete documentation and an active community of developers. This means that it is easier to find solutions to problems and learn new skills.
• Console Tool : Symfony comes with a powerful console tool that can be used to generate code, manage the database, and perform many other tasks.
• Support for Automated Testing : Symfony has excellent support for unit and functional tests, allowing developers to ensure that their code works as expected.
• Internationalization : Symfony includes features for translation and localization, which makes it easier to develop applications in multiple languages.

In short, symfony is a powerful and flexible framework that can help you develop high-quality web applications in a structured and efficient way.

3.- CodeIgniter

CodeIgniter is a lightweight and simple framework that does not impose a restrictive coding model. It is ideal for developers who prefer a more hands-on approach. Despite its simplicity, it offers a large number of libraries for common tasks.

Benefits of using CodeIgniter

CodeIgniter is a PHP framework that stands out for being lightweight, efficient, and easy to use, making it a popular choice among developers. Here are some of the benefits that CodeIgniter offers for software development:

• Light and Fast : CodeIgniter is known for its small size. The system kernel is very light, with a minimum of libraries loaded by default, resulting in very fast performance.
• Minimal Configuration – Unlike other frameworks that require detailed configuration, CodeIgniter works with very little configuration, making it easy to get projects up and running.
• Excellent Documentation : CodeIgniter stands out for its clear and comprehensive documentation, which makes it easy to learn and use the framework.
• Flexibility : CodeIgniter does not strictly follow the MVC (Model-View-Controller) pattern. This means that you have the flexibility to use your own encoding conventions and file structure.
• Security – CodeIgniter has several built-in features to help protect your application, such as protection against SQL injection attacks, and CSRF and XSS protection.
• Ease of Use : CodeIgniter is easy to understand and use, even for developers who are new to PHP frameworks. Its simplified structure facilitates coding.
• Built-in Libraries – CodeIgniter comes with a set of built-in libraries that cover areas like image manipulation, sending emails, session manipulation, and more.
• Active Community : CodeIgniter has an active community of developers who can offer help and support.

In short, CodeIgniter is an excellent framework for those looking for a lightweight, fast and easy to use solution for developing web applications. Its focus on simplicity and ease of use, along with its performance and security, make it a solid choice for many projects.

4.- Yii

This framework is especially good for the development of large web applications, such as portals, forums, content management systems, etc. Yii is very efficient in terms of performance and allows rapid prototyping thanks to its Gii code generator.

Benefits of using Yii

Yii is a high-performance PHP framework that stands out for its efficiency and flexibility. Here are some of the benefits that Yii offers for software development:

• Performance : Yii is known for its high performance, which makes it an excellent choice for applications that need to handle a large volume of traffic.
• Rapid Prototyping : Yii comes with a tool called Gii that provides a web interface to automatically generate code for models, controllers, forms, and CRUD. This makes prototyping easier and faster.
• Security : Yii has strong security features, including protection against SQL injection attacks, Cross-site Scripting (XSS), Cross-site Request Forgery (CSRF), and Cookie Tampering.
• Caching Support : Yii provides support for various caching mechanisms, including APC, XCache, Memcache, and Redis. This can significantly improve the performance of your application.
• Extension Components : Yii has a large library of community-contributed extensions, which can help you add functionality to your application quickly and easily.
• MVC architecture : Like many other PHP frameworks, Yii uses the Model-View-Controller (MVC) pattern, which helps keep your code organized and separates business logic from the user interface.
• Testing Integration : Yii integrates well with Codeception, a popular PHP testing framework. This allows you to write and run unit, functional, and acceptance tests for your application.
• Internationalization and Localization : Yii offers support for internationalization (i18n) and localization (l10n), allowing you to develop multilingual applications.

In short, Yii is a robust and efficient framework that offers a wide range of features and tools to help you develop high-quality web applications. Its performance and security make it a popular choice for larger projects and applications that must handle high volumes of traffic.

5.- Zend

Zend is an object-oriented framework that is often used to develop enterprise applications. It offers a lot of features and is very flexible, but it can be a bit more difficult to learn than other frameworks.

Benefits of using Zend

The Zend Framework, now known as the Laminas Project, is an open source PHP framework that is often used to develop large-scale, high-performance web applications. Here are some of the benefits that Zend offers for software development:

• Object Oriented : The Zend Framework is completely based on object-oriented programming and uses many of the new features of PHP, such as namespaces and closures, allowing you to create more modular and reusable code.
• Reusable Components : The Zend Framework is built with self-contained components that you can use as needed. This means that you can use only the components you need instead of having to use the entire framework.
• Robust MVC – Zend implements the Model-View-Controller (MVC) pattern, which helps separate your application logic and makes your code easier to manage and maintain.
• Scalability – Zend is known for its ability to scale, making it a great choice for enterprise applications and large web applications.
• Integration with Front-End Technologies : Zend offers support for front-end technologies such as AJAX and jQuery, which can make it easier to create interactive user interfaces.
• Extensive Documentation : Zend has extensive documentation that covers many areas, which can be very helpful for troubleshooting and learning how to use the different features of the framework.
• Testing Support : Zend offers testing support with PHPUnit, a popular testing framework for PHP, which makes it easy to write tests for your application and helps ensure that your code works correctly.
• Internationalization and Localization : Zend provides support for internationalization and localization, making it easy to build applications that can be adapted to different languages and regions.
• Active Community : Zend has a large community of developers who can provide support and share their expertise.

In short, Zend is a powerful and flexible framework that offers a wide range of tools and features to help you develop high-quality web applications. Its focus on object-oriented programming and component reuse, along with its scalability, make Zend a great choice for larger projects and enterprise applications.

6.- Phalcon

Phalcon stands out for his speed. It is a framework implemented as an extension to C, which makes it incredibly fast. Phalcon is ideal for applications that require high performance.

Benefits of using Phalcon

Phalcon is a high performance PHP framework that differs from other frameworks due to its unique design. Unlike most PHP frameworks that are purely script-based, Phalcon is implemented as a C extension written in C and Zephir, which gives it a number of benefits:

• Performance and Efficiency : Since Phalcon is written in C and compiled to bytecode, it is incredibly fast compared to other PHP frameworks. This can lead to improved performance and reduced use of server resources.
• Full Feature : Despite its speed and efficiency, Phalcon is a full feature framework. It includes everything you need to develop modern web applications, from routing and security to session management and templates.
• Dependency Injection : Phalcon comes with a built-in dependency injection container, making it easy to manage your application's dependencies.
• MVC Architecture : Like many other PHP frameworks, Phalcon uses the Model-View-Controller (MVC) pattern, which helps keep your code organized and separated.
• ORM support : Phalcon includes an ORM (Object-Relational Mapping) that simplifies interaction with your database. You can work with databases using objects and methods instead of SQL by hand.
• Less Overhead : Since Phalcon runs as a PHP extension, it has significantly less overhead than other frameworks. This can lead to improved performance and more efficient use of resources.
• Caching : Phalcon provides strong support for data caching, which can help improve the performance of your application.

In short, Phalcon is a powerful option for developers who want the speed and efficiency of a compiled framework, but still want the features and flexibility of a full PHP framework. Its unique combination of performance

7.- CakePHP

This is one of the older PHP frameworks, but it's still relevant thanks to its ease of use and robust set of components. CakePHP can be an excellent choice for projects that require speed in development.

Benefits of using CakePHP

CakePHP is an open source PHP framework that has earned its place for being easy to learn and use, but also for being powerful and flexible. Here are some of the benefits that CakePHP offers for software development:

• Convention Over Configuration : CakePHP follows the principle of "convention over configuration", which means it comes with sensible default conventions that save you configuration time. This can significantly speed up the development process.
• MVC Architecture : Like many other PHP frameworks, CakePHP uses the Model-View-Controller (MVC) pattern, which makes it easy to organize code and separate business logic from user interface.
• Code Generation CakePHP includes bake, a code generation tool that can quickly create application skeletons, models, controllers, and views. This can save a lot of time in development.
• Security – CakePHP comes with several built-in security features, including CSRF protection, form protection, SQL injection prevention, and password hashing.
• Testing – CakePHP has support for testing with PHPUnit, which makes it easy to write tests for your application and helps ensure that your code works correctly.
• Internationalization and Localization – CakePHP provides support for internationalization and localization, making it easy to build applications that can be adapted to different languages and regions.
• Flexibility – CakePHP is flexible and allows developers to build applications in the way that best suits their needs. It does not force you to follow a particular approach.
• Active Community – CakePHP has an active community of developers and a large number of learning resources available, which means that it is easier to find help and solutions to problems.

In short, CakePHP is a framework that combines ease of use with power and flexibility, making it a popular choice for all kinds of projects. Its focus on configuration convention and powerful code generation tools make it a great choice for developers who want to get up and running quickly.

8.- Slim

As the name suggests, Slim is a micro-framework that is incredibly light and fast. Slim is ideal for developing simple APIs and web services, where you don't need the full weight of a full framework.

Benefits of using Slim

Slim Framework is a PHP micro-framework that stands out for its simplicity and flexibility. It is commonly used to develop APIs and web services due to its minimalist approach. Here are some of the benefits that Slim offers for software development:

• Light and Fast : As a micro-framework, Slim is incredibly light and fast. It doesn't come with the extra features that full frameworks usually have, making it ideal for smaller applications and services that require high performance.
• Easy to Learn : Slim has a very low learning curve, especially if you are already familiar with PHP. You can start working with it in no time.
• Powerful Routing : Slim comes with a powerful routing system. This makes it easy to handle different types of HTTP requests and direct them to the correct functions.
• Middleware : Slim supports middleware, which allows you to manipulate HTTP requests and responses in your application. This can be useful for adding functionality like authentication, caching, and more.
• PSR-7 Support : Slim uses HTTP Message (PSR-7) interfaces, allowing you to use any library that also uses them.
• Dependency Control : Slim comes with a built-in dependency injection container, making it easy to manage your application's dependencies.
• Active Community : Despite its small size, Slim has an active community of developers and a good amount of documentation.

In short, Slim is an excellent choice for developers who want a simple and fast framework for developing APIs and web services. Its minimalist approach means you get just the features you need without the overhead of the ones you don't, and its powerful routing and middleware support let you build robust and efficient applications.

9.- FuelPHP

FuelPHP is a modern framework that follows the HMVC (Hierarchical Model-View-Controller) design pattern, which makes it easy to organize your code. FuelPHP offers great flexibility and a high level of security.

Benefits of using FuelPHP

FuelPHP is a community-oriented and flexible PHP framework that offers a large number of functionalities and features to facilitate the development of web applications. Listed below are some of the benefits that FuelPHP offers:

• HMVC Architecture : Unlike traditional MVC architecture, FuelPHP uses a Hierarchical Model-View-Controller (HMVC) architecture. This means that instead of having a single request per page that needs to load all the necessary data, you can have sub-requests each loading their own data. This can make your application more modular and efficient.
• Security : FuelPHP has many built-in security features, including protection against SQL injection, Cross-Site Scripting (XSS), and Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF).
• Modularity – FuelPHP allows the use of modules, which can help you keep your code organized and reusable.
• Oil CLI – FuelPHP comes with a CLI tool called Oil that can generate code, migrate databases, and perform other useful tasks.
• Powerful ORM : FuelPHP comes with its own ORM (Object-Relational Mapping), which is simple but powerful. You can work with your database using objects instead of raw SQL.
• Dependency Injection : FuelPHP includes a dependency injection wrapper, which makes it easy to manage dependencies in your application.
• Support for PHP 7 : FuelPHP has been updated to work with PHP 7, which means you can take advantage of all the new features and performance improvements in this version of PHP.

In short, FuelPHP is a robust framework that combines HMVC architecture, strong security, and a set of useful tools to make web application development easy. Its focus on flexibility and modularity make it an attractive option for many projects.

10.- Laminas Project

Formerly known as the Zend Framework, Laminas Project is a fully object-oriented PHP framework. Although its learning curve can be a bit steep, it offers a high degree of customization and is ideal for complex business applications.

Benefits of using Laminas Project

The Laminas Project, formerly known as the Zend Framework, is an open source PHP framework that offers a robust set of components for developing web applications and services. Here are some of the benefits that Laminas Project offers for software development:

• Modular Components : Laminas Project is built with independent components that you can use as needed. This means that you can use only the components you need instead of having to use the entire framework.
• Object Oriented : Laminas Project is completely based on object oriented programming and uses many of the new features of PHP, allowing you to create more modular and reusable code.
• Scalability – Laminas is known for its ability to scale, making it an excellent choice for enterprise applications and large web applications.
• Middleware Support : Laminas Project has strong middleware support, which allows you to manipulate HTTP requests and responses in your application.
• Integration with Front-End Technologies : Laminas Project offers support for front-end technologies such as AJAX and jQuery, which can make it easier to create interactive user interfaces.
• Extensive Documentation : The Laminas Project has extensive documentation that covers many areas, which can be very useful for troubleshooting and learning how to use the different features of the framework.
• Testing Support : The Laminas Project offers testing support with PHPUnit, a popular testing framework for PHP, which makes it easy to write tests for your application and helps ensure that your code works correctly.
• Internationalization and Localization : Laminas Project provides support for internationalization and localization, which makes it easy to create applications that can be adapted to different languages and regions.
• Active Community : Laminas Project has a large community of developers who can provide support and share their experience.

In short, Laminas Project is a powerful and flexible framework that offers a wide range of tools and features to help you develop high-quality web applications. Its focus on object-oriented programming and component reuse, along with its scalability, make Laminas Project an excellent choice for larger projects and enterprise applications.

How to choose the best framework for your project?

Choosing the right framework largely depends on the project itself.

Keep in mind that if you already use any of the frameworks that we have mentioned in your project, it is always better to continue a development that you have done than to start a new one, even if the architecture was not done correctly, it is possible that performing a restructuring of the architecture will be better. option to change framework

However, if you're starting a new project, here are some factors to consider:

• Project size and complexity : Larger and more complex projects may benefit from more robust frameworks like Laravel or Symfony, while smaller projects or APIs may prefer a micro-framework like Slim.
• Performance : If performance is a key consideration, a framework like Phalcon may be the best option due to its speed.
• Ease of Learn – If you are new to PHP development or if your team is less experienced, you may want to choose a framework that is easy to learn, such as CodeIgniter or CakePHP.
• Community and support : An active community can be very helpful in resolving issues and learning best practices. Laravel and Symfony, for example, have great communities and a wealth of learning resources.
• Integration and compatibility : Depending on the other technologies you are using, some frameworks may integrate better than others.

Remember that there is no "best" framework in general, only the one that best suits your specific needs.

Data on all commented frameworks

The following table provides an overview of ten of the most popular PHP frameworks, including their year of release, the minimum and recommended version of PHP to use, the framework version as of September 2021, and the main modules or features each offers. one. It's important to remember that these versions may have changed with updates after 2021.

• Release Year : This is the year the first stable version of the framework was released.
• Minimum PHP version : This is the oldest version of PHP that the framework is compatible with.
• Recommended PHP version : This is the PHP version recommended by the framework developers for use. This is usually a newer version of PHP that offers better performance and security.
• Framework Version (2021) : This is the version of the framework that was available until September 2021. Newer versions may be available now.
• Main modules : These are some of the key modules or features that each framework offers. These can include things like an ORM (Object-Relational Mapping) for interacting with databases, a template system for HTML generation, security features, and more.

Please consult the official documentation for each framework for the most up-to-date and accurate information. Versions of frameworks and PHP can change over time as new versions are released, so it's important to regularly check for updates.